On February 11, United States Magistrate Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley ruled that Indybay reporter David Morse (known to readers as "Dave Id") would be able to take his civil rights lawsuit against BART police to trial. Morse was arrested while covering a "No Justice No BART" protest on September 8, 2011. BART Deputy Police Chief Dan Hartwig selected David Morse for arrest during the protest at the Powell Street BART Station, a culminating act in BART's response to a series of escalating demonstrations which publicly embarrassed the agency. As Morse's Indybay postings successively described the public furor around the actions of BART and its police force, BART police commanders commissioned an intelligence officer to profile Morse, publish his photograph, and prepare officers to make his arrest. At the Powell Street Station demonstration itself, Morse continued his usual journalistic activities, only to find himself singled out for arrest, handcuffed, held in a police substation, and ultimately transported to San Francisco County Jail. Every other credentialed journalist was released from a police encirclement that day.

Magistrate Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley has now ruled that Morse has sufficient evidence to continue to pursue his First Amendment claim against Deputy Chief Hartwig for arresting him in retaliation for his extensive and critical reporting on their police department. Additionally, Judge Scott Corley has ordered that evidence in the case previously under seal be made available for public review. A trial has been scheduled for September of this year.

Read More with Court Filings | Gil Gross Interview with Attorney Michael Siegel About Indybay Reporter's Case Against BART

Previous Features Related to Indybay Reporters: NLG Obtains $1.17M and OPD Reforms for Injured Occupy Oakland Protesters and Journalists | Indybay Reporter Charged in 2011 Vacant Bank Occupation: Bradley Allen's Story | Indybay Journalist Wins Payment and UCB Agreement to Change Policies, Train Officers | All Charges Dismissed Against Indybay Photojournalists Bradley and Alex | ACLU-NC Submits Brief in Support of Indybay's Bradley Stuart Allen and Alex Darocy | Indybay Journalists Charged with Felony: Conspiracy to Make Media | Society of Professional Journalists Committee Scolds BART for Actions at Sept. 8th Protest | Indybay Reporter Files Supreme Court Appeal in Civil Rights Case | Indybay Reporter Files Federal Civil Rights Lawsuit Against UC Police | Indybay Journalist Denied the Right to Sue to Redress His Own False Arrest by SFPD in 2004 | Indybay Reporter Succeeds in Quashing UCPD Search Warrant | Reporter Josh Wolf Freed | Josh Wolf Jailed For Refusal to Hand Over Video of Protest | SF Grand Jury Targets G8 Protest And Independent Journalist